Britain Overwhelmingly Supports Wind Power

RenewableUK has today welcomed an opinion poll carried out by ComRes which once again highlights overwhelming support for wind power among the British public.

The opinion poll shows that a massive 67% of people support building wind farms in the area in which they live, making wind one of the most popular forms of energy generation. Only 33% backed fracking and just 31% favoured nuclear.

RenewableUK’s Chief Executive, Maria McCaffery, said:

“This latest opinion poll provides further cast iron evidence of the high levels of support that wind power enjoys right across the country. Every opinion poll done in recent years has put the support for wind at over 65% and that is no fluke. It is born out of the concerns people have over the country being over reliant on imported fossil fuels, which are putting up all our electricity bills, and the need to reduce our carbon emissions. This poll also blows a hole in the myth that people don’t want wind farms built anywhere near them. We know that isn’t true and this survey offers further proof that actually support for wind is extremely strong in local communities around the country.

“This has been an exciting year for wind energy so far, with the largest offshore wind farm in the world London Array opening, and further developments taking us over the 10 gigawatt mark for wind power for the first time. There is still a long way to go but we are making real progress in getting us towards our energy targets”.

This news comes a day after influential think-tank Carbon Connect published a report calling for greater clarity from the government on how to better support the future development of offshore wind in the UK.

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Press release, September 5, 2013; Image: DOW